What Boat do i need ?

[Jomaweb]

This seems like a stupid question but just wondering if anyone can help me, I currently own a Quintrex 4.2m Tiller Steer with 40hp Yam, it is a great boat, use it to do most of the fishing I do at the moment, but I think I want a bigger boat. I live in Innisfail, in FNQ and reef's are reasonably close from me, I take this boat now out to the close reefs from Mourilyan Harbour, like Gouge Banks, and Hall Thompson which i spose are about 30km's offshore, too worried to go much further out in case it blows up. So if I buy a bigger boat I don't know how big to go. I guess I want to be able to do some overnight trips on the red's and feel safe, but I don't want something that is unmanageable. Anyone recommend anything ? Should I be looking plate or glass, Mono or Cat ? Any opinions would be great. I was thinking along the lines of a 5 1/2 - 6m glass Cat, but like I said, I need something manageable...Thanks

[FNQCairns]

If you are to be doing a reef trip often and would also like the easy option of planing a trip when the forecast is near 15kn (when isn't it this last year!!) then consider a boat long enough to span the wind waves without too much banging, will also make the trip back with the waves in the arvo much dryer. IMO this starts at 6m. A real good fibreglass 5.5 can do a great job also, but not like a real good say 6.2m boat can.

cheers fnq

[ozbee]

if you want ally there bar crushers up there which in 5.8 to 6.2 which would be suitable more so than the other brands to a degree , personally quite often the old 19 haines there's millions of them in north Queensland come up . even if it needs new stringers etc there quite a few people who do them properly one in ayr off hand
. they fiinish up well and are very much suited to our wave conditions with comfort verus fishing room also a hard top right to the back makes a great boat up here

because of our short swell chop shark cats are not the choice by most people up here (there has been a few turtled up this way in average conditions) but in saying this personally once in that 23 foot mark or beyond you would cover more than one wave , chop which would make it ride better than my 680 patriot i reckon.

[FNQCairns]

if you want ally there bar crushers up there which in 5.8 to 6.2 which would be suitable more so than the other brands to a degree , personally quite often the old 19 haines there's millions of them in north Queensland come up . even if it needs new stringers etc there quite a few people who do them properly one in ayr off hand
. they fiinish up well and are very much suited to our wave conditions with comfort verus fishing room also a hard top right to the back makes a great boat up here

because of our short swell chop shark cats are not the choice by most people up here (there has been a few turtled up this way in average conditions) but in saying this personally once in that 23 foot mark or beyond you would cover more than one wave , chop which would make it ride better than my 680 patriot i reckon.

I own a light 6m tinny and ATM keeping an eagle eye on this weekends forecast (it's quite borderline atm)with an almost desperate view to get out for even half a day, if I owned your patriot I would have already planed the trip and would expect it to come off.

My boat can handle pretty much anything this area can throw at it till 35kn with uncomfortable but safe ease but to own a boat that can just do the travel aspect with total ease in typical winds...priceless!

cheers fnq

[levinge]

Jomaweb,
Have a look at the Formosa Range. I have a 5.95M Centre Cab and have had it out in everything from light 5kts up to 25kts and really ugly weather (tested to see its potential in running home in bad weather if we ever got caught short). Whole package with electronics, options and a 135hp Honda 4 Stroke came in under 50K. Had mine since July and already up to 50hours on the water. Good sturdy boat. Closest dealer to you is The Tinnie Shack in Mission Beach, Dean and Carla are good people and only use top quality gear in the fitout of every boat.

Either way if you go Alloy or Fibreglass, both have their pluses and minuses, so it really comes down to what you want it to do. For me the Alloy angle was my direction for Ramps, running up on a Beach and a little less maintenance than the Fibreglass boats. Overall I cannot think of one thing that is bad about the Formosa. Strong and reliable boat, not to mention comfortable as my missus was critical of that fact for long runs. 2.4m beam allows 3 big guys to move around with ease. easy to drive, launch and retrieve (drive on)

If your interested have a look at one checkout www.formosamarineboats.com.au or www.thetinnieshack.com.au

Dean will take you for a comprehensive test if you ask.

If you want any further info just let me know, more that happy to answer any question for you and I will be totally honest in my appraisal. Owners are more critical than Salesman, but Dean is a real down to earth bloke..

[catfishkid]

I guess a lot depends on your budget,I just went through the same exercise and ended up buying a cruise craft reef ranger18.5ft in the old money.
I had a tight budget and this hull best suited what I wanted which is similar to what you describe.I found a really good unit with a very low hour yamaha motor for under 16k.
I know its not a cat but these hulls are excellent offshore.

Cheers Craig

[Giveway]

I watched a bloke launch his 6m polycraft centre console with ease. I would seriously consider the poly range if I was in the market. Glass is the next option for me. Perhaps an older boat in good shape with the option of re-powering if that is in your budget. I have a 17ft kevlacat suncoaster which I find very easy to manage out on the reef. Aussie whalers are another great option if you can find a decent one. Perhaps up north a good Hooker might be available.

[reelchippy]

Mate my next boat will be a Whittley21 walkaround nugget did this on you tube cheers

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=QqDo93KXSSU

http://www.whittleymarine.com/index.htm

[Jomaweb]

thanks everyone so far for their opinions, I guess budget is going to be the biggest thing to contend with, I have not really decided on what sort of money I'm going to spend, I guess I'm not a person who will take a shortcut on buying something, in saying that I'm not going to spend a fortune on it either. I like to feel safe in the water, I guess I would be looking around 35-50, which is probably not going to get me the best boat on the water, but I should imagine I would find something nice and sufficient for what I want to do.

RE: levinge, I might go and see those guys down there, only 1/2 hour drive and I think he deals in 2nd hand aswell..

Well thanks again, opinions are all good and give me plenty to think about. Thanks

[ozbee]

i don't know what your getting at FNQ as i said a degree . as for going out have a look at fishing Townsville you will see i made my mind up two days ago.

also many people call 20 k out as the reef when they are mainly shoals. my trips average 100 k out and to be that far out and have a westerly come through early can scare the shits out of anyone. ive smashed rod holders had seats pulled out of the floor on my patriot,canopy bent yet my boat did not put me in danger. do you want to try that in a tinny no i hope not. that's why i suggested a second hand 19 ft haines they have proved themselves in north Queensland time and time over. there's a lot of plate ally boats that will do the job as well these days but they are just as expensive these days as my tub. if you can pick-up a haines for 7000$ spend 10 doing him up plus 20000$ for a new motor.

for $ 37000 you are way ahead than any tinny or my outlay.

[levinge]

Pretty good comments there Ozbee, but for $37000, why spend time on a project doing it up, you can get some reef ready boats for that price also. The little brother to mine would be in that ballpark.

The only we look for is a rig that will get us back to the ones we love, if it goes pear shaped weatherwise out at the reef and I agree with you, a reef trip for me is usually a 185km round trip. But I can see where FNQ is coming from as the Reef up around Kurrimine etc is half the distance compared to us.....

In the long run Jomaweb will pick a rig that will satisfy all his requirements and yes I think that Dean does a few 2nd hand boats. do yourself a treat and have a test in one of the Formosa its right in your budget....

[sid_fishes]

or you could buy mine. a 5.1 cc black pearl marine all plate boat. custom fold down targa ,90 4 stroke zuk ,raymarine dsx600 sounder, 435 gps with the new xl9 map etc.a nd a bit cheaper than $37000
cheers sid

[Scalem]

Jomaweb

You seem to be in a similar position as me, only my 4.2mtr is a glass runabout, but certainly not suited to getting out in the blue. I have been doing quite a lot of looking around, and the DVD that came with last months' edition of the Bush and Beach had a feature of this boat, the pick of them for me is the 1750 cuddy which is packaged in Brisbane with a 90hp Etec. But I prefer more power, which puts me just over the 40K mark for a 115 before haggling http://www.mustangboats.com.au/index2.html

The other boat that caught my eye, similar design is the Pursuit 550F
http://www.pursuitboats.com.au/html/550F%20specs.html

Two things that attract me to the 550F - I can look at a Suzuki 4 stroke with the dealer here in Brisbane. They package an 80HP Suzie with this rig, which I think is a little small for a 5.5mtr boat, but they offered me a water test to prove that 80 pony Suzie is more than enough power on this hull. I will have to see but I will still prefer a 115. Odd, but the sales guy said there is very little difference in performance for the 3 or 4K extra you pay for a 115.
2nd thing is that the Pursuit has a 130 ltr tank, so coupled with a 4S, the range you would have would be fantastic. The Tournament has a 90ltr or thereabouts, so not quite the fuel capacity. Other nice things that come with this particular Pursuit package are clears which are a must in heavy seas, and a colour combo GPS and sounder ( I think it was a Garmin)

Iam leaning toward the Pursuit, seems a very nice, quality entry level boat, and includes a few nice additional bits.

Hope you think this helps mate! If you are looking to buy new, these are within your budget.

Scalem

[finding_time]

. A real good fibreglass 5.5 can do a great job also, but not like a real good say 6.2m boat can.

cheers fnq


Fnq

You forgot to mention that a incredible 5.2 m cat would blow all of the above away!!;) ;D I realize this was probably just a silly oversight so i though i would help ya out but mentioning it! No need to thank me!!:D


Ian

[FNQCairns]

Fnq

You forgot to mention that a incredible 5.2 m cat would blow all of the above away!!;) ;D I realize this was probably just a silly oversight so i though i would help ya out but mentioning it! No need to thank me!!:D


Ian

But I will Ian, thanks! you are probably right but I heard that their abilities have been blown way way out of proportion and actually perform closer to a garden variety 5m pressed tinny, so I step around them;D

You sure they are any good??:-X8-)

cheers fnq

[finding_time]

Garden variety 5m pressed tinnie, yep a good comparison on a glassed out lake!;) But for some reason i though you were talking about 15 plus knots of that very ugly 2 foot nth qld chop! A 5.2 kc over hyped, Not a chance!!!;) 8-) ;D

[White Pointer]

thanks everyone so far for their opinions, I guess budget is going to be the biggest thing to contend with, I have not really decided on what sort of money I'm going to spend, I guess I'm not a person who will take a shortcut on buying something, in saying that I'm not going to spend a fortune on it either. I like to feel safe in the water, I guess I would be looking around 35-50, which is probably not going to get me the best boat on the water, but I should imagine I would find something nice and sufficient for what I want to do.

RE: levinge, I might go and see those guys down there, only 1/2 hour drive and I think he deals in 2nd hand aswell..

Well thanks again, opinions are all good and give me plenty to think about. Thanks


G'day,

I am a fan of glass boats in deep water ports like Sydney where even the harbour beaches and ramps have lots of sand. In Queensland the exposed rocks and lack of pontoons around launching ramps recommend plate boats. It's personal experience and others will disagree but every opinion is equal.

Recommeding a plate boat and following the earlier thread, I would hunt the east coast market for a well maintained 2 or 3 year old Barcrusher as a great fishing and all weather boat. You are more likely to find stock in Sydney or Melbourne, closer to where they are made.

Aim for the 6.1M model but be prepared to settle on the 5.6M if that all that's around. The Brisbane dealer is Stones Corner Marine and they may be sitting on stock that they want to move in the current downturn.

Good thread! Let us know what you find and decide.

White Pointer

[disorderly]

When I finally upgrade from my backbusting tinny it will be to a glass boat with a nice vee and a bit of weight to the hull (thats if a pontoon is ever constructed locally ::)).

Whichever way you go if there is no need to rush in then I'd anticipate with the current economic situation that there is likely to be good bargains available before too long .

Oh and if you are after a cat ....then it's never too early to begin working on the prerequisite superiority complex.;);D

Scott

[finding_time]

Scott

There is absolutely nothing COMPLEX about a cats SUPERIORITY at all!!!!!!;)

Ian

[sid_fishes]

ian ,mate you are sounding more and more like dean every day
and damn i wished i owned one
cheers ian